Olympic gold medalist and dual world champion Lara Gut-Behrami has declared her retirement from alpine skiing. Hailing from Switzerland, the speed expert clinched the Olympic super-G gold in the 2022 Beijing Games, adding to her collection of three Olympic medals and the 2021 world championships titles in super-G and giant slalom. With a total of 48 World Cup victories, 24 of which were in super-G, she ranks fifth all-time among women. She also secured the overall World Cup championship in 2016 and 2024.
Expressing gratitude for her lengthy career and the opportunity to pursue her skiing dreams alongside remarkable individuals, Gut-Behrami shared her retirement decision. Initially planning to retire at the end of the previous season in March, her plans were derailed by a severe knee injury sustained during a training crash at Copper Mountain, Colo., in November. The injury involved ligament ruptures in her left knee and meniscus damage.
The Milan-Cortina Olympics was set to be Gut-Behrami’s fourth Winter Games, with the competition taking place on the Cortina d’Ampezzo course where she achieved her dual world championship victories in 2021, in addition to a bronze in downhill. Despite the setbacks, Gut-Behrami reflected on the injury, emphasizing the importance of maintaining her health and well-being post-retirement.
Throughout her elite sporting career spanning nearly two decades, Gut-Behrami encountered various challenges, including missing the 2010 Vancouver Olympics due to a serious hip injury and sustaining a left ACL tear during the 2017 world championships in St. Moritz. Despite these obstacles, she amassed an impressive record of 101 podium finishes in 395 World Cup races, with her 48 victories ranking second among Swiss women, behind only Vreni Schneider.
Having expressed intentions to relocate to England, where her husband, former Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami, holds a position in the management team at Watford, Gut-Behrami looks ahead to the next chapter in her life beyond competitive skiing.
